Vehicle cleaning element

ABSTRACT

A vehicle washing apparatus includes a movable support such as a rotary brush hub having a cleaning element attached thereto. The cleaning element includes a base component having a plurality of spaced slots formed there in and a plurality of cleaning strips extending through the slots to attach the strips to the base component. The slots are formed in a plurality of first and second alternating pairs of slots, with the first pairs of slots being positioned closer to a first edge and the second pairs of slots being positioned closer to an opposite edge of the base component so that when the cleaning strips are inserted through the slots they are mounted in overlapping relationship. A method is also provided for manufacturing the cleaning element.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improved vehicle cleaning elementand, more particularly, to a cleaning element having a plurality ofcleaning strips inserted through slots in a belt-like base component.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many different kinds of devices are known in the art for washingvehicles by employing rotating brush assemblies or other cleaningelements.

In the field of mechanized vehicle washing, the devices employed aregenerally of two types. The first is a stationary type often referred toas a tunnel wash, whereby the various components are mounted onstationary frame means and the vehicle to be washed is moved through thedevice either by conveyor means or by driving the car therethrough alonga predetermined path. The second is a rollover type wherein thecomponents of the device are mounted on a frame which in turn is mountedon wheels for movement along a predetermined path wherein the rolloverdevice is moved forwardly and backwardly over a vehicle to wash thevehicle.

Illustrated in FIGS. 6-13 are various cleaning elements employed inconnection with known prior art rotating brush assemblies used inconnection with devices for washing vehicles.

Shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a cleaning element having a belt-like basecomponent 70 with a plurality of spaced cups 72 extending from onesurface thereof. Inserted into each cup are a plurality of folded overfilaments 74 secured therein by a thread 76 which is inserted through ahole 78 in the bottom of each cup and around the folded portion of thefilaments and then back out of the hole 78 on the bottom surface of thebase component 70.

FIGS. 8-13 illustrate other forms of known cleaning elements forrotating brush assemblies. Like numerals are used for like elements ineach of FIGS. 8-13 described hereafter.

The cleaning element for a rotating brush shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has abase component 80 having a plurality of folded cleaning strips 82attached thereto by means of staples 86 extending through a fasteningstrip 84, the cleaning strips 82 and a base component 80. As shown inFIG. 9, the staples are crimped at the ends thereof on the backside ofthe base component.

Shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is a cleaning element having a base component80 to which are attached cleaning strips 82 by means of staples 86extending through fastening strips 84, the cleaning strip 82 and a basecomponent 80, with the staples being cramped on the back side of thebase component as shown in FIG. 11. The cleaning strips are furtherattached to the base component 80 by means of threads 88 stitchedthrough the fastening strip 84, the cleaning element 82 and the basecomponent 80.

Shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is a cleaning element formed by attachingcleaning strips 82 to a base component 80 by threads 88 stitched throughthe cleaning strips 82 and the base component 80.

In the prior art cleaning elements for rotating brush assemblies such asthose described above, all of these elements require mechanical ways ofpositively attaching a cleaning strip to a base component such as byusing staples, threads, hand tying and the like.

Such methods as those described above are labor intensive and thereforerelatively time consuming and expensive to construct. Such devices arealso more difficult to repair since any new cleaning strips must beattached by some positive mechanical attaching means. Accordingly, therehas long existed a need in the art for a cleaning element which is ofsimple construction and easy to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning elementfor a vehicle washing apparatus which avoids the disadvantages of theprior art discussed above by providing a cleaning element attached to amovable support wherein the cleaning element includes a base componenthaving a plurality of cleaning strips attached thereto by being insertedthrough slots in the base component.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cleaning element foruse in a rotating brush assembly of a vehicle washing apparatus whereincleaning strips may be easily attached to a base component by insertionthrough adjacent slots in a base component whereby two cleaning stripsare in overlapping relation so that they are tightly gripped throughfriction in the slots of the base component and also eliminate gapsbetween cleaning strips.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cleaning element for arotating brush assembly for a vehicle washing apparatus wherein cleaningstrips can easily be inserted and pulled out of slots in a basecomponent and therefore are easy to replace and repair.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method ofmanufacturing a cleaning element for a rotary brush assembly of avehicle washing apparatus which is simple in construction and economicalto manufacture.

The present invention achieves the above and other objects by providinga vehicle washing apparatus which includes a cleaning element having aplurality of cleaning strips attached to a base component by beinginserted through a plurality of spaced slots in the base component withadjacent cleaning strips being mounted in overlapping relationship. Theslots in the base component are formed in a plurality of first andsecond alternating pairs of slots, with the first pairs of slots beingpositioned closer to a first edge of the base component and the secondpairs of slots being positioned closer to an opposite edge of the basecomponent.

The present invention further includes a method of manufacturing acleaning element for a vehicle washing apparatus which includes thesteps of forming a base component, forming a plurality of slots in thebase component so that the slots are formed in a plurality of first andsecond alternating pairs of slots with the first pairs of slots beingpositioned closer to a first edge of the base component and second pairsof slots being positioned closer to an opposite edge of the basecomponent and inserting cleaning strips through the slots wherebyadjacent cleaning strips are in overlapping relation.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent with reference to the following detaileddescription of drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a vehicle washing apparatusemploying a rotary brush having cleaning elements constructed accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a vehicle washing apparatusemploying a pair of rotary brushes having cleaning elements constructedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a single cleaning element according tothe present invention;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged side elevational view of a piece of material usedin making the cleaning strips of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view showing the manner in which two adjacentcleaning strips are inserted through slots in a base component to mountthe cleaning strips thereon;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5—5 of FIG. 4 showing twocleaning strips fully inserted in overlapping relationship in a basecomponent;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the portion of a prior artcleaning element employing a brush constructed of filaments mounted incups on a base component;

FIG. 7 is a back view of the base component of the cleaning element ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a prior art cleaning element illustratingthe manner in which cleaning strips are attached to a base component bystaples;

FIG. 9 is a back view of the cleaning element of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of another prior art cleaning elementshowing the manner in which cleaning strips are attached to a basecomponent by a combination of staples and stitching;

FIG. 11 is a view showing the back of the cleaning element of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of another prior art cleaning elementshowing cleaning strips attached to a base component by stitching; and

FIG. 13 is a view showing the back of the cleaning element of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a vehicle washingapparatus generally referred to by numeral 10, includes a supportingframe 12 having a swing arm 14 pivotally attached thereto. A rotarybrush assembly, generally indicated by the numeral 22, is rotatablyattached to the outer end of the swing arm 14.

The rotary brush assembly includes a drive shaft 18, having a hub 20attached thereto. A plurality of stacked cleaning elements 30 areattached to the hub to form a rotary brush which functions as a sidebrush to clean the sides of a vehicle. A motor 16, mounted at the outerend of the swing arm 14, is connected to the rotary brush assemblythrough a gear box 17 to rotate the brush. A plurality of spray nozzles23 are attached to the supporting frame 12 to spray liquid on a vehiclebeing washed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a movable scrubber curtain assemblycomprised of a frame 24 having a plurality of scrubber curtains 26suspended therefrom is provided on the end of the vehicle washingapparatus opposite to the end on which the rotary brush assembly 22 ismounted. The scrubber curtain assembly may be of the type disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,463,788, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The vehicle washing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is of the rollover typeand has a plurality of wheels 27 at the bottom thereof to move theapparatus along a track 28.

A modified form of the vehicle washing apparatus 22 is shown FIG. 2,which is of the tunnel type having a stationary frame 12 supported on asurface by fixed mounting plates 38. The apparatus of FIG. 2 includes apair of rotary brush assemblies 22.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5, each cleaning element 30 is comprisedof a base component 32 in the form of a belt having a plurality ofspaced slots 26 therein through which a plurality of cleaning strips 34are inserted. The base component 32 preferably is constructed from aflexible plastic material such as a high density polyethylene but alsomay be constructed of other suitable material such as a thin metal. Thecleaning strips 34 preferably are of a deep pile, tufted (randomlyoriented) monofilament fibrous material manufactured by Borg Fabrics ofNY. The fabric is of a deep pile material which has a fur-likeappearance.

The deep pile, fur-like material preferably has a thickness or depth offrom one-fourth of an inch to one inch. The fibers of the material are85% polyester and 15% acrylic. A small section of this material isillustrated in FIG. 3A as a thick cluster of tufted monofilament fibers40 upstanding from a woven base 42 which provides a fabric layer. Thebase 42 is made of 100% polyester or other comparable materials. Thewoven base provides an elastic base or backing. A non-elastic backing 44also may be applied to the base if desired. The backing 44 may beattached by stitching or by adhesive bonding or other suitable means tothe base 42.

The cleaning strips also may be constructed of other suitable materialssuch as regular cloth, felt or the like.

In constructing the base component 32, the material is cut into anelongated belt like form and slots 26 are formed therein by any suitablemeans such as cutting or punching. As most clearly shown in FIG. 4, theslots are formed in a plurality of first and second alternating pairs ofslots, with the first pairs of slots 50A and 50B being positioned closerto a first edge 52 of the base component and the second pairs of slots54A and 54B being positioned closer to an opposite edge 56 of the basecomponent.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 each cleaning strip 34 is formed by makinga flat strip of the deep pile, fur-like material and folding the backingside of the material over on itself whereby the deep pile, fur-likematerial is all on the outside of the cleaning strip and the backingmaterial 42 is all on the inside of each strip.

In assembling each cleaning element, a first cleaning strip 34A foldedover upon itself is inserted into a slot 54A from the front side andpulled through the slot and then is bent over and inserted through aslot 54B from the back side to the front side and then is pulled tightso that the fold of the cleaning strip is snug with the base component32 as shown in FIG. 5. A second cleaning strip 34B folded over uponitself is inserted from the front of the base component 32 through aslot 50A of a first pair of slots closer to edge 52 and then is bentover and inserted from the back side of the base component 32 to thefront side thereof through a slot 50B of an adjacent pair of first slotscloser to the edge 52. The second cleaning strip 34B is then pulledthrough until it is snug with the first cleaning strip 34A as shown inFIG. 5.

The cleaning strips 34 are held in these slots through friction betweenthe deep pile fur-like material sides of these strips and the edges andsides of the slots. Moreover, by pulling two strips 34A and 34B intosnug overlapping relationship whereby a cleaning strip 34B overlaps andend of a cleaning strip 34A, the grip of the slots on the strips istightened. The overlapping of the cleaning strips also eliminates gapsbetween the cleaning strips to provide a more efficient washingconstruction of the cleaning element 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of the cleaning elements 30 maybe mounted in stacked relationship on a hub 20 to form a brush of adesired height. When each cleaning element 30 is mounted on a hub 20,the base component 32 is wrapped around the hub to form an endless beltas shown in FIG. 3.

The cleaning elements of the invention also may be used in connectionwith other movable supports then the rotary brush assemblies. Forexample, the scrubber curtains 26 shown in FIG. 1 may be constructed ofthe same base component 32 having cleaning strips 34 inserted throughslots therein. The cleaning elements also may be used in connection withrocker panel brushes and other types of brushes and scrubbers.

Applicants' invention provides several advantages over the prior artcleaning elements and methods of manufacturing thereof. By simplyinserting the cleaning strips through slots in the base component, thecleaning strips are easily attached without requiring separatemechanical fastening means such as staples and threads. Thisconstruction also makes it much easier to replace individual cleaningstrips since it is only necessary to pull a worn or otherwise defectivestrip through the slots to remove it and then simply replace the stripby a new cleaning strip by inserting it through the slots. Moreover, byarranging the strips in overlapping relationship, the cleaning stripsare gripped more tightly in the slots and have greater resistance tobeing pulled out.

Numerous other modifications and adaptations of the present inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art and thus, it is intended bythe following claims to cover all such modifications and adaptationswhich fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle washing apparatus comprising: a movablesupport; a cleaning element attached to said movable support; saidcleaning element comprising; a base component having a plurality ofspaced slots formed therein; and a plurality of cleaning stripsextending through said slots to attach said strips to said basecomponent; and wherein said base component has a front side and a backside and each of said cleaning strips extends through one of said slotsin a direction from the front side to the back side and extends throughan adjacent slot in an opposite direction from the back side to thefront side to form a pair of outwardly extending legs for each cleaningstrip; and wherein said slots are elongated and certain of said slotsare positioned closer to a first edge of said base component and otherof said slots are positioned closer to an opposite second edge of saidbase component and certain of said cleaning strips extend through a pairof slots closer to said first edge and other of said cleaning stripsextend through a pair of slots closer to said opposite second edge.
 2. Avehicle washing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each cleaningstrip extending through a pair of slots closer to said first edge is inoverlapping relationship to a cleaning strip extending through a pair ofslots closer to said opposite second edge.
 3. A vehicle washingapparatus according to claim 1 wherein said movable support comprises aside brush.
 4. A vehicle washing apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid movable support comprises a rocker panel brush.
 5. A vehiclewashing apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said movable supportcomprises a top scrubber curtain.
 6. A vehicle washing apparatuscomprising: a movable support; and a cleaning element attached to saidmovable support; said cleaning element comprising; a base componenthaving a plurality of spaced slots formed therein; and a plurality ofcleaning strips extending through said slots to attach said strips tosaid base component; and wherein said slots are formed in a plurality offirst and second alternating pairs of slots, with said first pairs ofslots being positioned closer to a first edge of said base component andsaid second pairs of slots being positioned closer to an opposite edgeof said base component.
 7. A rotatable brush assembly for a vehiclewashing apparatus, said brush assembly comprising: a hub; a plurality ofcleaning elements mounted on said hub in stacked relationship; each saidcleaning element comprising; a base component having a plurality ofspaced slots formed therein; and a plurality of cleaning stripsextending through said slots to attach said strips to said basecomponent; and wherein said base component has a front side and a backside and each of said cleaning strips extends through one of said slotsin a direction from the front side to the back side and extends throughan adjacent slot in an opposite direction from the back side to thefront side to form a pair of outwardly extending legs for each cleaningstrip; and wherein said slots are elongated and certain of said slotsare positioned closer to a first edge of said base component and otherof said slots are positioned closer to an opposite second edge of saidbase component and certain of said cleaning strips extend through a pairof slots closer to said first edge and other of said cleaning stripsextend through a pair of slots closer to said opposite second edge.
 8. Arotatable brush assembly for a vehicle washing apparatus according toclaim 7 wherein each cleaning strip extending through a pair of slotscloser to said first edge is in overlapping relationship to a cleaningstrip extending through a pair of slots closer to said opposite secondedge.
 9. A rotatable brush assembly for a vehicle washing apparatus,said brush assembly comprising: a hub; a plurality of cleaning elementsmounted on said hub in stacked relationship; each said cleaning elementcomprising; a base component having a plurality of spaced slots formedtherein; and a plurality of cleaning strips extending through said slotsto attach said strips to said base component; and wherein said slots areformed in a plurality of first and second alternating pairs of slots,with said first pairs of slots being positioned closer to a first edgeof said base component and said second pairs of slots being positionedcloser to an opposite edge of said base component.